February 18, 2018

Somewhat similar to metempsychosis, transmigration is defined as the movement of a soul into another body after death… transmigration is related to the idea of reincarnation and metempsychosis…strange? …perhaps, but can it be disproven?...no…reincarnation is of course the belief that a new life starts in a different physical body or form after biological death and this continues on and on…some religions have a strong belief in reincarnation while others do not…those that believe have the idea that one can range from being reborn as a human, an animal, a plant, or some other type of living being…what you are born as is thought by many to be based on the moral conduct one exhibited in their previous life or lives…another factor is thought to be the karma that one built up…either good or bad…good karma of course is thought to enable a more favorable rebirth…there have been stories of something triggering a memory of a time in an old life that comes forth when ‘awakened’…for instance, a person who is normally placid can suddenly morph into a personality unknown and unimaginable to their friends and loved ones…one that can become violent under certain circumstances when certain factors occur, or become quite unpredictable…this is because of bad conduct or karma in a prior existence…it may be directed often toward a person who at least has an inkling of why, they may indeed be aware of the entire transformation…and why… as they too are familiar with the concept and what lies behind the ‘strange’ behavior…they may know the exact reason behind it…as incredible as it sounds, it is said that there are documented cases of this occurring…mainly in India.

February 16, 2018

Autoscopy is the feeling of being able to feel that though one is separate from one’s body...it is quite similar to an out of body experience...which of course some people experience when they are near death...they feel as though their spirit is floating effortlessly above it all...their taking it all in as people are working on their body trying to save their life...they feel totally distanced from their actual body...but some people are able to ‘divorce’ their spirit from their body and do the same thing during their everyday life...most people are too within themselves to be able to do this, but some people can separate themselves and observe themselves as they go through their day...it’s like going outside on a winter day...most will go through the motions without any thought of what they are actually doing...in fact, they are lost in their thoughts...but there are others who truly experience things...almost as though they watching a movie of themselves...doing and while doing that they can ‘see’ themselves...walking...‘see’ themselves shoveling the sidewalk, see their breath and become immersed in what they are doing, even as they ‘watch’ themselves...now some people might think that doing such a thing would lessen the personal experience of life, but many feel it only enhances it...this includes being able to ‘see’ themselves interacting with others, and by doing this feel that they have a greater control.

February 14, 2018

Alexander II was a Tsar who formally abolished serfdom in 1861…thereby freeing Russia’s serfs from indentured servitude to their landowners…reformers hailed the move, but it gave birth to a severe economic crisis that nearly crippled the country, angered landowners who obviously weren’t happy with the serfs no longer committed to servitude, and prompted a number of revolutionary groups to begin agitating for a constitution…Alexander II also put a halt to some of the perks nobility enjoyed…reformed the judicial system…and abolished corporal punishment…he also sold Alaska to the United States in 1867…Alexander II made a lot of changes that you would have thought to be popular, but he still had enemies who wanted him dead…it was fourteen years after the sale of Alaska, in 1881 that a radical threw a bomb at Alexander II in Saint Petersburg…his legs were blown off and he was mortally wounded…despite care being given to him, he succumbed to his injuries…he had been assassinated…thus prompting his successor, son Alexander III, to implement a harsh crackdown on public resistance…the American writer Mark Twain met the Tsar…hedescribed a visit with Alexander II saying that he was "very tall and spare, and a determined-looking man, though a very pleasant-looking one nevertheless. It is easy to see that he is kind and affectionate. There is something very noble in his expression when his cap is off.”...it seemed he wanted to make Russia a better place and his reward was to be brutally killed.

February 12, 2018

A medicine man is a traditional healer and spiritual leader who serves a group of native tribes and is primarily known here as a healer in the Native American community...their work is usually associated with spiritual healing...in days of old, those who were sick went to or were taken to the medicine man (or in some cases, woman) for help...it is said that many medicine men were very powerful and could heal many things...most Native Americans are very hesitant to discuss issues and practices that are related to medicine or medicine men with non-Indians...and in some cultures, the members will not even talk about such things with other Indians from other tribes...they are closely guarded secrets and to ask about such things is to invite suspicion...some tribes even code what is written down into their own language to make stealing the secrets more difficult...and with most tribes, medicine elders are prohibited from advertising or introducing themselves as healers...it can take many years before one is able to practice such ‘medicine’...often times, the medicine man would have a pouch commonly referred to as a medicine bag...this bag would contain items that would promote personal well-being...their contents were kept secret.

February 10, 2018

You probably haven’t heard of the case of Grigory Zinoviev who was a prominent member of the Bolshevik Party in the early days…he was closely associated with a comrade named Lev Kamenev and was a close friend of Lenin himself during Lenin’s years in exile...Zinoviev disagreed however with Lenin’s call to hold a revolution so soon, and thought it best to wait until later…as a result, he played virtually no role in the October Revolution…nor was he was not involved in any party activities immediately after the revolution…however later, he went on to become a member of the Politburo in 1919… and went on from that to serve in the Soviet government…that is until he was arrested and executed during Stalin’s purges in the 1930s along with Lev Kamenev…Zinoviev was a chief defendant in a 1936 dog and pony show trial called the Trial of the Sixteen…that trial marked the start of the so-called Great Terror in the USSR…most defendants were charged under what was known as Article 58 of the RSFSR Penal Code which accused them of conspiring with the western powers to assassinate Stalin and other prominent Soviet leaders in an attempt to dismember the Soviet Union...both Zinoviev and Kamenev were told that if they agreed to plead guilty to these ‘crimes’ , in exchange their lives would be spared…Stalin agreed to this but then ordered their executions immediately after the trial…this occurred in August of 1936…hence, Stalin’s promise was empty...another strike against Kamenev was that he was the brother-in-law of Leon Trotsky and Trotsky wasn’t one of Stalin’s favorite people if he had any favorites at all...history seems to indicate he did not.

February 8, 2018

Divination is an attempt to gain insight into a situation or particular question or questions by using occult-like methods, or a standardized process or ritual...this obviously in an attempt to forewarn of dire circumstances or to foretell fortuitous future events...it has been used in various forms throughout the long course of history...many religions and philosophies including certain types of Taoism have used or use divination...these type of Taoists use I Ching...something I have never believed in or endorsed as a Taoist teacher...those who do this type of work are called diviners and they ascertain their interpretations of how someone should proceed by reading various signs, events, oromens... or perhaps through alleged contact with a supernatural agency...all kinds of things and methods have been used...throwing bones, reading tea leaves, using cards such as tarot cards, dream prophecy...literally there are thousands of methods that have been used...methods which no doubt have produced mixed results...it is often a systematic but yet disjointed and scattershot method in an attempt to gain insight..there are successes, but even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in a while...is there a difference between divination and fortune telling?...yes in the fact that divination has a more formal and ritualistic element in its ways...whereas fortune telling is a practice that is used for personal purposes.

February 6, 2018

“I hear it always. I hear the scream. I know he’s waiting for me on the other side.”

Leon Trotsky was a Bolshevik leader and one of the most prominent figures of the Russian revolution…Trotsky, had been in exile abroad during the February Revolution, but he returned to Russia in May of 1917…upon his arrival, he closely aligned himself with Lenin, and joined the Bolshevik Party during the summer…Trotsky headed what was called the Revolutionary Military Committee, which among other things, provided the military muscle needed for the October Revolution…after the revolution, he was appointed commissar of foreign affairs and led Russia’s negotiations with Germany and Austria for the armistice and subsequent peace treaty that made possible Russia’s exit from World War I…Trotsky opposed Joseph Stalin on a number of issues which did not endear him to the Soviet leader…Trotsky was eventually deported and made his way to Mexico where he became friends with the famous Mexican painters Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera…there were several unsuccessful attempts on Trotsky’s life…but on August 20th, 1940…Trotsky was attacked by Ramón Mercader who used an ice axe as a weapon…he hit Trotsky with a blow to his head but it failed to kill Trotsky instantly, as Mercader had intended…witnesses to the attacks said that Trotsky spat on his attacker and engaged in a fierce fight with him…this resulted in Mercader's hand getting broken…hearing all the commotion, Trotsky's bodyguards burst into the room and nearly killed Mercader…but Trotsky asked them to stop…he wanted the assassin to answer questions…Trotsky was taken to a hospital and operated on…and he survived for more than a day…before succumbing at the age of 60 as a result of extensive blood loss and severe brain injuries...Mercader spend 20 years in a Mexican prison for the crime…once he got out, he was hailed as a hero in the Soviet Union…he lived out his life in Cuba…Mercader was weary of Trotsky even after death…his supposed final words were; “I hear it always. I hear the scream. I know he’s waiting for me on the other side.” How frightening would it be if you knew someone was waiting for you on the other side?

4 Taoist masters parted after a meeting. One said "see you next year". Another said, "Next year? Who know what will happen next month?" The third said, "Next month? Who know what will happen tomorrow?" Finally, the oldest and wisest said "My dear friends, who knows what will happen in the next few seconds?"

The world is full of yin and yang, gaining, losing, advancing, retreating. All in balance, all in step with the Tao. No attempts to achieve or conquer, just tides moving in and out.

The origin of the Dao is shrouded in mystery. No one can say for sure. You can't know the unknowable. Don't even try. Let go of fruitless quests and revel in the beauty of now.

Roshi Hogan Says...

To describe the Dao, one word too many, a million words too few

I asked the boy beneath the pines; he said the master's gone alone. Walking somewhere on the mountain; cloud-hidden, whereabouts unknown Blow out the candle and make friends with the darkness

We do not insist our way is the only way, or the best way, merely that it is our way

Good enough is not good enough unless it is good enough.

Wisdom does not float in with the morning tide.

Let the trade winds that blow through your life be that of the Dao

In a world filled with treachery and darkness, the Dao remains the shining light of goodness and truth

Roshi Hogan Biography

When Roshi Hogan was young, there was who the neighbors called "a strange old man" who lived across the alley from him. This 'strange old man' was a former student of a Dao master in China. Becoming friends, Roshi Hogan had the wonderful opportunity to learn about the Tao from him. Such was the beginning of his practice. Roshi Hogan now passes these ancient teachings on to you. He has also had the honor of lecturing nationally, as well as internationally. Roshi Hogan is also an acclaimed artist who has exhibited at many group showings and has held solo exhibitions as well. He also enjoys writing poetry and essays and has had many articles published. His latest endeavor is digital art and photography.